Re: help!!! (Installing downloaded packages)

[Robert Guthrie <rguthrie@pobox.com>]

The quick answer: Don't use apt for those packages.  Use "dpkg -i *.deb" 
in the directory with those packages.

The long answer:
apt-get is for use with archives of debian packages, where you want to 
install a package, and want all of the other packages that it depends on 
to be installed automatically.  As such, apt-get requires that 
/etc/apt/sources.list contains valid URLs (either ftp: file: or http: or 
any combination) that can be resolved so that a "Packages" and a "Release" 
file can be found.  The Packages file contains a list of packages 
available on the given archive, and that's what you are missing in you 
local directory.  Generating it uses "dpkg --scanpackages" I think, but I 
can't remember off the top of my head.

My question is why aren't you just using a apt-getable archive to install 
your X windows environment?  That's a heck of a lot easier, and you don't 
have to resolve the dependencies by hand.

Hold on, I just re-red your post... why are you giving us a windows 
directory struction (linux doesn't use drive letters)?  Are the files 
located on a windows partition?  If so, you're first going to have to 
mount that partition under linux before you can even get to the files, and 
the path certainly won't look like h:/...

So, please give us some details on where you're comming from.  Maybe the 
non-comment lines from /etc/apt/sources.list would be usefull, and what 
packages you want to install.

On Friday 08 June 2001 02:21 pm, Dr. Raju wrote:
> hi,
> 	i recently tried to setup debian on my PC. Stuff worked fine and i have
> a text mode system working, however i have not been able to setup x
> windows properly.
> 	the problem is , when i try dselect , it does not give me the option of
> using the hdd where my files are kept.i have not yet understood how to
> give a path to access these files via the apt prog. using the "file:"
> tag. for example, how should the path look if my files are in
> 		h:\debian\dists\potato\main\binary-i386/<required dir>
> another thing, the files i downloaded do not contain any subdirectories
> called "stable" "frozen" etc etc, all the deb  files are in the
> directory mentioned above.
>
> 	Also , is there any graphical kind of utility to do the configuration(
> like dbootstrap and the initial installation program)
> 	Any help regarding the above problems will be greatly appreciated.
>
> thanking you,
>
> Ashwin